Elite Guard Will McClendon Signs With Mean Green
5/13/2025 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The UNT men's basketball team signed senior transfer guard Will McClendon on Tuesday.
McClendon joins North Texas after playing his first two years at UCLA (2021-24) and most recently last season at San Jose State where he had the Spartans' second highest scoring average (12.0 ppg) and helped lead them to the 2025 NIT. He started every game he played in at SJSU, missing the last 10 games of the season due to an injury. He led San Jose State in made 3-pointers per game average (2.0) and led his team in assists per game (2.83) while also having its best assist/turnover ratio (3.09).
He had the nation's sixth lowest turnover percentage last season (7.2 percent) among all players with 60 or more assists on the year.
"I am thrilled to welcome Will McClendon to the Mean Green family," said UNT head coach Daniyal Robinson. "We're really excited to have him for his final year. On the court, fans will see that Will brings an elite combination of scoring and playmaking ability to the roster. Will is an experienced guard who has played in the NCAA Tournament and competed in high-level conferences. Coupled with that, it was Will's production and versatility that made him a priority target for us out of the transfer portal. I'm really looking forward to working with Will and seeing the impact he'll make here both on and off the court."
Coming out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, McClendon was ranked by Rivals as the nation's 41st best recruit. He becomes the highest ranked high school recruit to sign with North Texas — out of high school or as a transfer — since Tony Mitchell in 2011.
Prior to playing last year at San Jose State, McClendon was at UCLA where he signed out of high school. He helped lead the Bruins to back-to-back Sweet 16s and a 2023 Pac-12 conference championship and two consecutive top 11 Associated Press end of season national rankings.
At UCLA McClendon played in 60 career games and started four. He missed his entire true freshman season (2021-22) due to a torn ACL.
McClendon's single game career scoring high is 22 points, which he accomplished last year in a win over UTEP. He had three 20-point games last season alone including 20 at New Mexico who won the Mountain West championship and reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. McClendon last year averaged 12.3 points per game over the six games he played in against opponents who reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
He has scored in double figures 20 times in his career. He had his first career double-double last year with an 11-point and 10-rebound performance in a win at Wyoming.
McClendon is a native of Sacramento, California, but graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2021. He led Bishop Gorman to a Nevada state championship as a sophomore and then again as a junior. They were unable to attempt a three-peat, because the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association canceled the entire 2020-21 high school season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McClendon was a 2020 MaxPreps Junior All-American.
He joins UNT with one year of eligibility remaining.
For more information on UNT Basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can purchase tickets at www.meangreentickets.com or visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
McClendon joins North Texas after playing his first two years at UCLA (2021-24) and most recently last season at San Jose State where he had the Spartans' second highest scoring average (12.0 ppg) and helped lead them to the 2025 NIT. He started every game he played in at SJSU, missing the last 10 games of the season due to an injury. He led San Jose State in made 3-pointers per game average (2.0) and led his team in assists per game (2.83) while also having its best assist/turnover ratio (3.09).
He had the nation's sixth lowest turnover percentage last season (7.2 percent) among all players with 60 or more assists on the year.
"I am thrilled to welcome Will McClendon to the Mean Green family," said UNT head coach Daniyal Robinson. "We're really excited to have him for his final year. On the court, fans will see that Will brings an elite combination of scoring and playmaking ability to the roster. Will is an experienced guard who has played in the NCAA Tournament and competed in high-level conferences. Coupled with that, it was Will's production and versatility that made him a priority target for us out of the transfer portal. I'm really looking forward to working with Will and seeing the impact he'll make here both on and off the court."
Coming out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, McClendon was ranked by Rivals as the nation's 41st best recruit. He becomes the highest ranked high school recruit to sign with North Texas — out of high school or as a transfer — since Tony Mitchell in 2011.
Prior to playing last year at San Jose State, McClendon was at UCLA where he signed out of high school. He helped lead the Bruins to back-to-back Sweet 16s and a 2023 Pac-12 conference championship and two consecutive top 11 Associated Press end of season national rankings.
At UCLA McClendon played in 60 career games and started four. He missed his entire true freshman season (2021-22) due to a torn ACL.
McClendon's single game career scoring high is 22 points, which he accomplished last year in a win over UTEP. He had three 20-point games last season alone including 20 at New Mexico who won the Mountain West championship and reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. McClendon last year averaged 12.3 points per game over the six games he played in against opponents who reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
He has scored in double figures 20 times in his career. He had his first career double-double last year with an 11-point and 10-rebound performance in a win at Wyoming.
McClendon is a native of Sacramento, California, but graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2021. He led Bishop Gorman to a Nevada state championship as a sophomore and then again as a junior. They were unable to attempt a three-peat, because the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association canceled the entire 2020-21 high school season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McClendon was a 2020 MaxPreps Junior All-American.
He joins UNT with one year of eligibility remaining.
For more information on UNT Basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can purchase tickets at www.meangreentickets.com or visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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